In the Midwest.

3 Teens Get Life Sentences

FLINT, MICHIGAN — Three teenagers have been sentenced to life in prison for the beating death of a homeless man.

Genesee County Circuit Judge Robert M. Ransom told the teens that the man they killed, Mark A. Harris, 34, wasn't just a homeless man who lived in a debris-filled semi-trailer behind a doughnut shop.

"Mark Harris was a human being whose life was valued," Ransom said Wednesday. "His lifestyle may have differed but he was a human being who deserved the dignity any human being should have."

The teens were convicted of beating Harris to death on July 20, 1999, because he cheated them out of less than a dollar after buying them beer.

Separate juries convicted Mark A. Gonzalez, 16, and Ryan A. Kendrick, 17, who were sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Michael D. Worden, 16, was sentenced to life in prison plus 5 to 10 years on assault charges.

Another teen, 17, who made a deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, has yet to be sentenced, and an 18-year-old who drove the others but did not take part in the beatings pleaded guilty to felonious assault. He was sentenced to 5 years probation and 3 months in the Genesse County Jail.